Hello Ardith,   
      
   On Sat 2011-Aug-06 22:56, Ardith Hinton (1:153/716) wrote to Richard Webb:   
      
   RW>  they discouraged the use of braille and encouraged   
   RW>  use of magnification even though it would handicap a   
   RW>  student later in life, because we couldn't get enough   
   RW>  braille conversant instructors into the classroom.   
      
      
   AH>           ... and no doubt they'd convinced themselves that they   
   AH> were doing it solely for the benefit of the students.  In Canada, we   
   AH> tend to adopt new ideas long after the Americans and/or the Brits   
   AH> have already tried them & found they don't work as advertised... my   
   AH> time line may be somewhat different from yours. But luckily for me,   
   AH> my grade two teacher kept saying "Sound it out!" in an era when   
   AH> basal readers (e.g. Dick & Jane) were in vogue & the study of   
   AH> phonics was thought to be outdated.  You may not want to get me   
   AH> started on *that*....  ;-)    
      
   Learned that way, sound the word out, etc.  ONce my mother   
   won the braille fight I took off with it.   
      
      
      
      
   AH>           As a mother, I can relate.  I admire this gal already!   
   AH> Mothers have unique insights WRT the offspring of their womb.  And   
   AH> parents of either gender may also have the marginally insane   
   AH> devotion which enabled me, for example, to learn everything you   
   AH> probably never wanted to hear about leukemia & explain it to our GP   
   AH> although I was not a brilliant student in high school biology class.   
   AH> The experts know stuff I don't know... but I know my kid, and if   
   AH> necessary I'd move mountains for her.  Dissecting clams was a lot   
   AH> less inspiring AFAIC.  :-)    
      
   INdeed, mothers, and family can often tell you things you   
   might want to know to help you decide on a course of action, whether you be   
   teacher or doctor.  Kathy's doctor, (current   
   version) seems to be much better about this.   
      
   AH>           OTOH the experts don't always know as much as they'd like   
   AH> to believe they do.  When Nora was in grade one & had recently   
   AH> finished her treatment for leukemia, she couldn't always muster the   
   AH> energy to walk a quarter of a mile to school.  Sometimes I dragged   
   AH> her... sometimes I carried her.  The principal of the school got   
   AH> bent out of shape because the mother of some other kid, who was in   
   AH> grade five & had very different issues to deal with, had been seen   
   AH> carrying her son up & down the stairs.  He felt he had to pacify   
   AH> certain members of the staff who were afraid they'd be expected to   
   AH> do the same.  Within a year I told Nora she'd exceeded my load limit   
   AH> & she'd have to walk now.  By then she could do it.  My long term   
   AH> goal was to help her reach a point where she could get to where she   
   AH> wanted to go independently of me.  I realized that neither I nor the   
   AH> old clunker I was driving would last forever.   
      
      
   That's the attitude to take with our children, and I argue   
   for that approach all the time with people.  Having that   
   argument with Kathy and her daughter about daughter's eldest daughter.  YOu   
   have to give them opportunities to take   
   responsibility if you want them to develop the ability to do so.  Kathy and   
   her daughter are both sheltering protecting   
   people if given the choice, and I'm arguing they're   
   overprotecting teenage girl instead of giving her   
   information which she can use along with her intellect to   
   make responsible intelligent choices.   
      
   AH>           I respect people who, like the aforementioned kindergarten   
   AH> teacher & GP, are willing to admit to what they don't know.  One of   
   AH> the great lessons my parents taught me is that you don't have to   
   AH> know everything if you know how to look it up or you know who to   
   AH> ask.  And nowadays, when I ask how to get from A to B in a   
   AH> wheelchair, I have more confidence in those who say "I'm not sure...   
   AH> let me go take a look!" than in those who assure me it won't be any   
   AH> problem at all.  Chances are the latter have overlooked some   
   AH> important detail(s)....  ;-)    
      
   Boy do I know that feeling with my lady in a wheelchair.   
   DOn't get me started on "accessible" for people in   
   wheelchairs.  I still think every architect designing   
   "handicapped accessible" facilities should spend some time   
   during his/her course of study strapped in a wheelchair, all day, every day.    
   Go through the cafeteria line, prepare   
   dinner, go to class, go here, go there.  THen consider such   
   things as the paper towel dispenser that is at a nice low   
   height but is set too far back for the wheelchair user to   
   get to, or the double doors that work wrong for the person   
   in the wheelchair to independently navigate them.  I've   
   entered more ladies' rooms to rescue Kathy from a situation   
   in public places than I cleaned when I was a janitor for   
   awhile .   
      
   IN fact, that's one of next week's projects, a stop to price materials, at   
   present she makes it to the van on her walker   
   from the front door, but that's even becoming more difficult for her, and a   
   ramp is in her near future.  I've seen some   
   of the fly by the light of the moon construction of   
   wheelchair ramps common around here, and would rather build   
   my own and hire a couple flunkies for the day than hire one   
   of them to do it.   
      
   Regards,   
              Richard   
   ---   
    * Origin:  (1:116/901)